A/N: Hello and Welcome! Ágnes here! This is just a little something I did the other day to channel my negative emotions. In all honesty, school sucks. But anyway, leave a review if you feel like it. Constructive criticism is always welcome, but keep in mind that English is my third language. :)

Prologue: Nights like this

Thunder crackled in the distance, lightning flashing soon after. The storm clouds shifted uneasily, as it let out another violent torrent. The rain fell down heavily on the deserted streets of Konoha, washing away the inhabitants' merriness and leaving a gloomy feeling in its place.

It was almost midnight. The lonely figure of a young woman wandered around aimlessly in the rain. Her wet hair stuck to her forehead and cheeks, and her lavender eyes stared into the distance. It was nights like this, that the dreadful memories flooded her mind, leaving no chance of getting a good night's sleep.

She remembered him vividly; the slight lavender tint in his featureless white eyes, the fairness of his skin, the softness of his voice… Everything. When she closed her eyes she could still see him, smiling subtly at her whenever she succeeded to master a new technique during their training sessions.

It was hard to believe that her cousin was dead. On the battlefield, when he protected her from the Ten-Tail's wood projectiles and passed away in the arms of a certain blond ninja, she could not process his death. Only after the war came to an end did it hit her, and it hit hard. She would cry herself to sleep for months until there were no tears left. While the Shinobi World celebrated their victory, she mourned with every fiber of her being. Even now, years later she still couldn't let go of him. She lost her appetite long ago and during the night she laid sleeplessly in her bed. Her friends were concerned about her health, but she ignored them. She didn't feel any remorse for alarming them. She was numb. Just the emotionless shell of the little shy girl she once was.

In the dead of the night, she found herself in a familiar neighborhood. Ever since she found someone who understood her pain, someone who experienced the same kind of trauma, she wandered these streets quite a lot. Within seconds, she made up her mind and walked over to the small block of flats. The young woman climbed to stairs to the second floor, and knocked quietly on the rusty apartment door. Time passed by slowly as she stood in the lonely hallway, but after a while she heard the rustling of footsteps and a soft yawn.

The door opened with a loud crack. A mass of shaggy silver hair appeared in front of her, the man's formerly sleepy eyes widened slightly with surprise.

"Hinata, what are you doing here?" He raised an eyebrow at the young woman's soaked figure. It was late. And even though she was welcome in the older man's house at any time, he never once thought that she'd visit him at such an ungodly hour.

Hinata opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come. Her emotional grief turned into physical pain as she clenched her fists close to her chest.

"Will… will this pain ever g-go away, Kakashi?"

The man's expression softened at her faint voice, remembering inwardly the dark period after Rin's death. With a small sigh, he squeezed her shoulder and stared deep into her lavender eyes.

"No, it won't. But you'll get used to it."

At that moment Hinata threw herself in the arms of the silver haired Jounin; her tight grip almost hurt, but Kakashi let her hug him, his large palms stroking her long wet strands affectionately.

"You'll get used to it," he repeated. "I won't leave you alone."

It was nights like this, that she lost her hope, but she was glad to have him by her side. The older man gave her a sense of safety no one else could, she depended on him more than she would ever admit. She knew that if she lost him now, she would be a goner. Without his emotional support she would simply give up.

It was nights like this, that he whispered soothing words in her ears and promised to be by her side until the end.

It was nights like this, that Hinata forgot all about her pain for a second and experienced a moment of serenity in Kakashi's arms.